Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters took their case to Warner Bros.’ front yard this week, appearing on the Burbank studio lot beside Warner Bros. Discovery chief David Zaslav as Paramount presses a hostile bid for the company. The Netflix leaders met with staff and joined Zaslav on stage at the Steven J. Ross Theater in front of about 400 employees, a visible show of unity as shareholders weigh competing offers.
The visit came one day after Warner Bros. Discovery’s board urged investors to reject Paramount’s $30-a-share cash tender offer, calling it risky and uncertain, and to stick with Netflix’s agreed deal for the company’s studio and streaming assets. Paramount’s approach seeks the full company, including cable networks such as CNN and Discovery, while Netflix’s agreement focuses on the film and TV studios and HBO’s streaming business, with the networks set to separate into a standalone company.
In a letter filed with regulators and posted for shareholders, Sarandos and Peters argued that the Netflix transaction provides clearer financing and a smoother regulatory path, and they tried to cool the loudest fear in Hollywood: the fate of theatrical releases. “We are 100% committed to releasing Warner Bros. films in theaters with industry-standard windows,” they wrote, adding that Netflix has already started engaging U.S. and European competition authorities and expects a closing window of 12 to 18 months.
Paramount has attacked the process and pushed its pitch directly to investors, positioning its offer as faster and more certain. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing disclosed that Paramount CEO David Ellison texted Zaslav on Dec. 4 to say Paramount’s bid was not “best and final”; Warner said Zaslav did not respond because the message lacked an actionable improvement during board deliberations.
Labor groups and guild leaders continue to warn that consolidation will squeeze production volume and jobs. Writers Guild of America West president Michele Mulroney put it bluntly: “We’ve seen this movie before, and we know how it ends.” Meanwhile, separate talks reported this week indicate hedge fund Standard General has explored investing in, or buying, Warner Bros. Discovery’s networks unit, highlighting how contested those legacy assets remain while the takeover fight plays out.
